Tag Archives: oceania

Mystery DNA recovered in 1979 cold case murder probe

Police investigating the cold case murder of a Perth woman more than 40 years ago have recovered the DNA of a mystery man.

Kerryn Tate, 22, was found dead by forestry department workers in the Canning Dam catchment area on December 30, 1979.

A reward of up to $1 million for information that leads to the conviction of the person or people responsible for the murder remains on offer.

Kerryn Tate was murdered in 1979.

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Police today revealed the DNA breakthrough as they appealed for more information.

Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Potter said police are using "every technical means possible" available in Australia and overseas to identify the man behind the DNA, including Ancestry.com and family trees.

"Quite frankly, somebody in our community knows what happened to Kerryn," Potter said.

"We are asking people if they do suspect somebody that may have had something to do with what happened to Kerryn to let us know."

Tate's body was found in dense bushland about 800 metres from where she was house-sitting south of the Brookton Highway in Karragullen and about 40 kilometres from she was living on Barlee Street in Mount Lawley.

At the time, Tate was wearing a light-coloured blouse, dark blue jeans, a belt with a large metal buckle and sandals.

Two nights before her death, Tate attended a dance at the North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club with a friend on December 28.

She left the club at about midnight and spent the night with friends at a house in Swanbourne before getting a lift back to the Barlee Street address at about 11am on December 29.

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Police said her body was found about 800 metres from where she was house sitting south of the Brookton Highway in Karragullen and about 40 kilometres from she was living in Barlee Street in Mount Lawley.

It is believed she intended to travel to Karragullen afterwards to continue to house-sit for friends.

Police said Tate's movements from when she was dropped off to the time her body was found are unknown.

Potter said he is confident the special crime squad team will find the person behind the link.

"The first step will be to identify who that DNA sample is and we'll talk to that person and find out what their involvement is," he said.

Her family joined police in calling for help in solving the case.

"Although many years have passed since Kerryn's murder, just hearing her name or seeing her face still brings us to our knees and breaks our hearts again," the family said in a statement.

"Please stand up and give us the answers that we have been waiting our whole lives for – so we can at least understand why this happened."

Potter dismissed rumours Tate's death was linked to witchcraft, despite early media reports in 1979.

"I know it was reported very early," he said.

"There's not a lot of information that we've got that anybody really close to Kerryn was involved in witchcraft or the like.

"As we're working through people now, we may find some links to that.

"I think she had visited a bookshop that sold those sort of books at one stage."

Potter said there was a fire in the area at the time but police are confident Tate didn't die as a result of the blaze.

Originally from NSW, police said Tate moved to Perth about 12 months before her death.

"She was described as being a girl who had a few close friends and many acquaintances, but also enjoyed her own company," Crime Stoppers WA said.

She often hitchhiked to wherever she went and was known to carry a black helmet with her in case she was offered a ride on a motorcycle.

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Slain nursing student bound, buried alive by ex-boyfriend

Warning: This story contains details and content that some readers may find distressing.

Nursing student Jasmeen Kaur was bound by cable ties and buried alive by her ex-boyfriend in South Australia's Flinders Ranges in a murder dubbed an "act of vengeance", a court has heard.

The 21-year-old was stalked, abducted and killed by Tarikjot Singh in March 2021 when she was buried alive in a shallow grave more than 400 kilometres from where she was last seen leaving work in Adelaide.

Singh initially denied the killing, claiming Kaur had taken her own life, but pleaded guilty to murder before he was due to stand trial earlier this year.

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https://twitter.com/ExcellBeth/status/1676442503388737536

He was caught on CCTV hours before the murder at a Bunnings in Mile End buying gloves, cable ties and a shovel.

The court heard Singh planned the killing because he was unable to get over the breakdown of their relationship.

Singh kidnapped Kaur from her workplace and drove her for hours while she was retrained in the back or boot of the car.

Her body was later found blindfolded, limbs bound with cable ties and gaffer tape in a shallow grave in the Flinders Ranges.

Prosecutors today said the murder was an act of vengeance and the nature and level of violence involved an "uncommon level of cruelty".

"She had to have been consciously suffering what could only be described as the absolute terror of breathing in and swallowing soil and dying in that way," prosecutor Carmen Matteo said.

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Tarikjot Singh pleaded guilty to murdering Jasmeen Kaur.

Kaur's family, including her mother, were in court to hear the sentencing submissions.

Singh was told in court he will be jailed for life.

His lawyer wants him to be given a more merciful sentence, partly because they have labelled it a "crime of passion".

He will find out how long he must serve behind bars before he can apply for release next month.

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Court blow for Seven as Ben Roberts-Smith legal bill looms

Seven Network and Kerry Stokes' private firm have been ordered to hand over documents sought by three media organisations looking to hit them with additional costs of Ben Roberts-Smith's defamation defeat.

Justice Anthony Besanko ordered Seven and Australian Capital Equity to hand over invoices and emails that showed the involvement of their lawyers in the hotly contested litigation with a 110-day hearing ending last year.

Seven and ACE unsuccessfully argued the documents merely revealed how often the lawyers sat in on the hearings and would not show that the firms had any control or management of how the war veteran ran the lawsuits.

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The two Stokes-backed firms financially supported the Victoria Cross-recipient through the litigation via loan agreements which stated Seven's lawyers would have "continued oversight and management" of the litigation.

"The company understands there is a strong case to defend your reputation and the unfairness of your treatment by the defendants and in the inquiry proceedings," ACE said in its loan agreement with Roberts-Smith.

"The company is therefore willing to make this funding available to you in the belief there is a strong case for a successful outcome to the proceedings."

ACE requested an additional 15 per cent on top of the repayment of any money loaned to the former SAS corporal if he won his lawsuits.

After the cases were thrown out in the Federal Court last month, Nine-owned publishers The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald plus The Canberra Times are seeking their legal costs which are estimated to be over $25 million in total for all parties.

Nine is the publisher of this website.

Roberts-Smith has already agreed to cover the legal bills as well as paying additional indemnity costs after March 17, 2020, a day before the three media companies made an offer to resolve the proceedings.

He is resisting calls that he pay indemnity costs before that date, however.

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Other offers to settle the lawsuits were made on June 13, 2019, and November 30, 2020.

The bid against Seven and ACE is also for indemnity costs, which are orders typically granted in lawsuits that are frivolous, hopeless or doomed to fail.

Almost five years after the lawsuits were commenced, Besanko dismissed the cases, finding reports Roberts-Smith engaged in war crimes while deployed in Afghanistan, including his involvement in the unlawful murder of four unarmed prisoners, were substantially true.

Roberts-Smith has until July 12 to file an appeal.

In November 2020, a report into alleged war crimes by special forces in Afghanistan was released, finding credible evidence 39 civilians and prisoners were unlawfully killed by Australian troops while two others were subject to cruelty from 2007 to 2013.

Two years later, more than 40 alleged offences were under investigation.

Roberts-Smith has not been charged and maintains his innocence.

If you are a current or former ADF member, or a relative, and need counselling or support, you can contact the Defence All-Hours Support Line on 1800 628 036 or Open Arms on 1800 011 046.

Nine, the publisher of this website, is also the publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Anti-corruption body inundated with referrals in first four days

The newly established National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has been inundated with reports in its first few days of existence.

In the four full days since it opened its figurative doors on Saturday, the NACC has received nearly 200 online referrals, plus more than 100 calls on top of that.

Most of those have come in the last two days.

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National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton

"In his address on the morning of Monday 3 July, Commissioner (Paul) Brereton announced there had been 44 referrals made via the NACC's online form since the website had become active on 1 July," a NACC spokesperson said.

"By close of business on 4 July, 2023, 186 reports had been submitted via the webform, and the intake team had taken 116 calls.

"Approximately 60 of the referrals relate to matters well publicised in the media."

One of those was made by Green Senator Barbara Pocock, who referred the PwC tax scandal to the NACC on Saturday.

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The PwC building in Riverside Quay, Southbank, Melbourne.

"Any Australian citizen can refer instances of corruption in government to the NACC and that is what I have done today in my capacity as a concerned member of the Australian public," she said.

Brereton said on Monday the NACC won't look into every matter sent to it, saying only a "very small proportion" will warrant a full investigation.

There is also speculation former Coalition minister Stuart Robert will be referred to the body over allegations a consulting firm planned to funnel funds to him in exchange for support in gaining government contracts.

NDIS and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten is seeking advice from his department over the matter.

Robert has denied any and all wrongdoing.

Coalition Senator Linda Reynolds has also said she may refer the Commonwealth's compensation payment to Brittany Higgins to the new body, saying it "demands the attention of the National Anti-Corruption Commission".

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'Bigger than me': Young fisherman catches giant bluefin tuna

An 11-year-old boy is ecstatic after catching a "ginormous" tuna near Apollo Bay in Victoria.

Jakim Azzopardi was fishing with his dad and another friend when he reeled in the impressive catch off the coast of Cape Otway.

The bluefin tuna took over an hour to haul in, weighing in at 116.5kg and 189cm in length.

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"When it came in, it was big as, bigger than me. It was so tall," Jakim told 9News.

"I am still sore from my arms and I have told my good friend and he was amazed."

His dad Matthew said it was the largest fish they had ever caught on the boat.

"He holds the record now," he said.

"We normally let them go, but being his first fish and such a memorable one, we thought we would make the most of it."

Jakim said he was looking forward to telling the story to his mates when school goes back next week.

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